Non-equilibrium plasmas, including gliding arc plasmas, operating at low power levels (0.5-1 kW) are highly efficient plasma stimulators of hydrogen/syngas generation from biomass, coal and organic wastes. Their advantages over conventional catalytic technology are due to their ability to convert almost any hydrocarbons (without sensitivity to specifics of the feedstock) to syngas without a catalyst, at low temperature, with no thermal inertia, and no sulfur restrictions. Large scale application and commercialization of this technology typically requires scaling-up of the non-equilibrium plasma to a single unit power of 10-30 kW, which corresponds to H2/syngas production on the power level up to 1-3 MW (taking into account that plasma energy consumption is 1-2% of fuel heating value).
At the same time, a limiting factor for industry in applying a non-thermal plasma, in particular gliding arc, is the low associated power level (usually up to only about 1 kW). This is mainly due to the unique properties of gliding arc; that is, the high voltages (1-3 kV) and low currents (1-10 A) associated with this technology. If the current increases to the higher level, the gliding arc loses its non-equilibrium properties and becomes a regular thermal arc. The possibility of achieving a significant power increase by increasing arc voltage is also problematic, due to substantial technical difficulties.
The present invention seeks to address at least some of these challenges.